October 6, 2006, Newsletter Issue #87: Be Considerate of Your Audience

Tip of the Week

Be considerate of your audience.

"´Do you like card tricks?´ he asked. ´No,´ I answered. He did five."
- Somerset Maugham

Don´t force magic on your audience. The attention span of most people should be respected. 30-40 minutes of good magic is enough. You can get away with an hour show only if you're that good; but don´t presume anything that hasn't been verified.

Also there are ethical, cultural and religious sensibilities that you'll need to keep in mind. Decapitation tricks don't go over well in hospital wards, and no matter how well you do Houdini's needle-swallowing trick, it's generally inappropriate for kids' parties. Make your magic and humor age appropriate. Kids don´t generally want card tricks; they want bunnies.

Don't presume that your audience just loves to see more and more of you. Gauge their interest. Don't think that just because you think you have a good trick or that your performance is stunning that everyone will rather disembowel themselves than miss it. I've seen many magicians go down in flames because they insisted on doing a specific trick that they were enamoured of, but which left their audiences yawning or even upset (i.e., the razor-blade swallowing trick or a decapitation trick doesn't always sit too well with senior citizens)

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